


Remembrance

by Gwenhwyfar1984



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Holidays, New Years, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 04:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2838269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwenhwyfar1984/pseuds/Gwenhwyfar1984
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night after the events at Grady Memorial, Daryl is brooding, Carol comforts him, and thanks to winter memories, true feelings come out.<br/>Post mid-season finale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Remembrance

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The Walking Dead is the property of AMC Studios, Circle of Confusion, Darkwood Productions, Valhalla Motion Pictures and possibly other large companies. I am not connected to these companies. I Do Not Own.
> 
> Prompt: Written for the Livejournal community walkingdead_tv’s Comment Fic Meme. Lisasimpsonfan wanted the following: After Season 5 Mid-finale. Carol comforts a[n] emotionally broken up Daryl after the death of Beth. Carol mistakenly thinks that he was in love with Beth but he corrects her that he felt like her older protective brother and has feelings for someone else. They end up confessi[ng]on feelings for each other.
> 
> A/N: Ok, this is very important. If you are looking for Beth/Daryl bashing then look somewhere else. I do not get involved in fandom wars. I worked very hard to make sure that none of this can be seen as bashing. If someone has that interpretation then I am very, very sorry. That was not my intention.

_“Carol? I need to go on a run.”_  
 _Carol eyed the teenager who had approached her timidly. She was surprised. Beth never went on runs. She had always been protected, kept inside the prison._  
 _“Well what do you need? I can get it for you.”_  
 _Beth fidgeted. “I can’t tell you.”_  
 _Carol sighed with understanding. “I see. The men rarely get the right supplies. I’ll take care of it.”_  
 _Beth’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. I’m ok there. No, this is a surprise for everyone in the group.”_  
 _Confused, Carol wanted to say no, but the look on Beth’s face made her consider it. It obviously meant a lot. “Alright. I’ll speak to your father.”_

Beth was buried in a field of white flowers outside the city limits. Maggie had said that they were her favorite. Glenn ended up being the one to speak, as Maggie was too distraught. Finding out the family’s religious convictions, Father Gabriel said a few bible verses over the fresh grave.  
After this, a few of the survivors returned to the city to raid for supplies. They searched a few apartments and came back with bedding, a little bit of canned food that someone had hidden in a wall, and—jackpot—two large tents. There was even some soap so that people could get a little cleaner once they found a creek.  
Carol felt ashamed that she was unable to help. While she had been able to walk out of the hospital, her injuries were severe. She had a serious concussion, bruised ribs, her right knee was swollen and purple, and her left ankle was sprained. All of this was in addition to her seatbelt injury obtained during the miraculous van fall.  
She had told them to leave her behind. She was a liability. Their answer was for Tyreese to pick her up and place her in the truck.  
That the night they settled in some trees, the vehicles in a dirt path. Dinner was unappetizing, but not the worst they had ever eaten. Nobody felt like talking around the fire. Maggie disappeared into one of the tents and they could hear sobbing.  
Daryl got up and disappeared into the darkness and trees. When he did not come back after a while, Carol painfully got up and followed. He could be doing something stupid and she would try to prevent it.  
Her gun was ready, especially when she heard rustling nearby. Thankfully, it turned out to be Daryl and not a walker.  
“What are you doing?” She asked.  
He was silent for a moment. “I don’t know.” He replied, and then looked at her. “The hell you doing out here?”  
She shrugged her good shoulder and motioned back to the campsite. “Come on.”

She led them to the others, but he maneuvered her to the truck that they were sharing along with Gabriel and Noah. The newcomers were still by the fire, looking hesitant and uncomfortable. Daryl helped her up into the vehicle and she gingerly sat down on her blankets. To her extreme embarrassment, Noah had gathered three sofa pillows to put under her bedding. She hated them—it just showed her vulnerability—but she had to admit that it was a lot better than the hard metal.  
Daryl climbed in and collapsed down on his spot, staring at the ceiling, placing his crossbow between them and playing with a bolt. So this was the Daryl she was dealing with. Brooding. Well, it was better than the angry and insulting persona.  
She knew why he was being this way. It wasn’t just what had happened. Beth had been different. She meant the most to him.  
“I’m sorry about Beth.” She told him quietly.  
“She was the best of us.”

_Hershel reluctantly agreed, but only if Glenn went too. So the three of them set off, with Beth insisting that they had to go to houses. They found a small neighborhood._  
 _“Do you know where to look for what you need?” Carol asked, cleaning off her knife after clearing a house._  
 _“Yes. Beth replied, hurrying past her. While she and Glenn were busy, Carol searched downstairs. She could hear them moving around, and occasionally Glenn would come down with a large bag._  
 _It took three houses, but finally Beth was ready. Carol had found some much needed medical supplies and jars of pickled vegetables._  
 _“What is all of this?” Carol demanded, surveying the multitude of black plastic bags and even one long, rectangular box. She could see something green peeking out of it._  
 _Glenn grinned. “You won’t believe it.”_

_When they got back to the prison, only Glenn was allowed to help unpack the car. Beth then demanded that everybody leave C Block. The rest of the group was confused, as it was cold and a light snow was falling. The new people to the prison looked at them strangely as they headed to D Block._  
 _“What is she doing?” Rick demanded, rocking Judith who was falling asleep._  
 _Hershel chucked. “I have an idea.”_  
 _“What?” Carl asked._  
 _He just shook his head._

_More time passed and finally Glenn came to tell them that they could come back in. Grumbling as they wiped snow off their shoulders and head, they followed. When they reached the entrance to the block, the people in front stopped in their tracks. They were shoved aside, and then everyone was stopped._  
 _“It’s like Santa vomited.” Daryl muttered._  
 _In the corner stood a fake tree, decorated with tinsel, different colored balls, and gold bells. Along the upper walkway and stairs, garlands wrapped around the rails. Wreaths were hung on both entrances. Everyone’s cells had some kind of decoration on the bars._  
 _Beth stood in the middle of the floor, a grin on her face. “I thought we could all use some cheer.”_  
 _“You did well, Bethy.” Hershel reassured her._  
 _Beth held out a bracelet sized ring that had silver bells attached to it. “For Judith.”_  
 _Rick took it and shook it at the now awake baby. She laughed, delighted at the shininess and gentle ring._  
 _Carol climbed the stairs to examine the decoration on her cell. Beth had hung holly and poinsettias._  
 _“This is why she needed to go? She risked your lives for decorations?” A few cells away, Daryl scowled at the icecicles that were on his bars. He swiped at them and one fell, shattering on the floor. He ignored it and examined the red garland that was in the rail, his face showing a hint of bitterness._  
 _It hit her. Her had probably missed out on all of this growing up. This was a reminder of what he didn’t have._  
 _Carol stepped up to the rail next to him. “Well I did get condoms, pregnancy tests, and pickled asparagus.” She told him conversationally. He looked at her, confused. “Well if you don’t use one, then your gonna use the other two.”_  
 _He fought it, but her words worked. He shook his head, chuckling._

_Beth came up the stairs and approached the two. “What do you think?” Her eyes landed on the shattered icicle and her face fell. “I’m sorry. I should have asked you first. I know how protective you are of what’s yours. I didn’t go inside. I just reached through the bars._  
 _“It was an accident.” Daryl lied, to Carol’s surprise. “Got any more?”_  
 _Beth brightened and nodded, hurrying off._  
 _“What?” He demanded when he saw Carol’s surprised face._

“She was.” Carol agreed. She climbed under her blanket, trying to relax her bruised body. It had been a long time since she felt this bad. Her head was hurting worse; going from a dull ache to horrible pounding. Reluctantly, she dug a painkiller (snuck to her by the doctor at Grady) out of her bag and swallowed it. It made her head feel fuzzy.  
“I know you loved her. I’m sorry that you won’t get to be a couple.” She muttered, the words coming out before she had a chance to stop them.  
”What?” Daryl demanded.  
Well, she might as well continue. “You loved her, right?”  
“You mean…what gave you that idea?” His voice was cold, angry. She would have to tread carefully to avoid setting him off.  
“You never got angry with her. You put up with her singing, her decorations. You never stopped looking for her.”  
“You don’t know everything that happened when you were gone.” He jumped up and grabbed his bow. He headed for the door and then turned. “I’m old enough to be her father. She had only been eighteen three months. “ He took a few more paces towards her. “You know why I put up with her? She was like the little sister I always wanted.”  
Carol was silent. Beth was everything she wasn’t. She knew Daryl wouldn’t want someone who wasn’t happy. Pretty. Forty-two with a lot of baggage.  
“I’m sorry.” She whispered.  
He gave a bitter laugh. “You don’t get it, do you?”  
“Get what?”  
“Pfft.” He scoffed and headed for the entrance to the van.  
She felt a strange panic, like if he left everything between them would change forever. She didn’t want that. “Don’t go.”

_Daryl knocked on her cell door. He wanted to talk to her about the upcoming council meeting. They were discussing it when she heard a voice call up._  
 _“Hey!” she looked down to see Beth holding Judith; Glenn and Maggie with her. “Look. Mistletoe!”_  
 _There was indeed a piece of it hanging among the poinsettia and holly Beth had placed there._  
 _Carol sighed and shook her head. “It’s gotta be hanging up.”_  
 _Daryl pulled it out of the arrangement and tossed it over the edge. He muttered profanities and stalked off._  
 _The three below looked disappointed, and she saw Beth pass Maggie a bar of chocolate._

Daryl paced. “All this time… The joking, the teasing, the looks.” He stopped next to her. “I put a flower on your grave. Only yours. I let you call me Pookie.” He said the last with disgust. Carol couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What it seemed to mean. It couldn’t be. There had to be a mistake. “I wanted to go after you, but Rick wouldn’t…and then The Governor… I woulda gone after you.”  
Carol sat up despite the dizziness. “You wouldn’t have let me go at the church, would you?”  
“Naw. Never again.”  
He hadn’t pressured her about anything. Since returning, he had simply been a mostly silent presence, giving her space.  
He had put down those walkers for her. He had let her know that she as no longer alone. That she didn’t have to do everything.  
He had told her that they weren’t ashes. If only she believed him.

She tried to pull her good knee up to her chest, but it hurt her ankle. “You can’t.”  
He leaned against the wall. “Why?”  
“There’s nothing left.”  
“You didn’t hesitate to rescue us. You didn’t hesitate to come with me to rescue her. There’s something left, and it’s---“ He paused and seemed to be gathering courage. “Loveable.”  
The word hung in the air, charged. She stared at him in the semi-darkness. He looked so vulnerable now. She knew that it had taken him a lot to say it. He looked like he expected her to reject him.  
It wasn’t him she was rejecting, it was herself.  
“You mean that?”  
He kept his eyes on the floor, lightly kicking his blankets. “Don’t say what I don’t mean.”  
Now she took a deep breath. “Well, there is a lot more than just something left in you, Daryl Dixon. And it is also…loveable.”  
They were silent and she felt an awkwardness she had never felt around him before. Where do they go from here?

Outside a head peeked around the corner. “Can we go to sleep now?” Gabriel asked in his quiet voice. Noah appeared behind him. She wondered how long they had been out there and what they had heard.  
“Don’t know, can you?” Daryl replied, the attitude back in full. He adjusted his blankets, placing himself between her and the newcomers. He also placed them a fraction closer than before.

_“Thank you all for agreeing to this. This is a New Year’s tradition in my family.” Beth explained. She glanced at her father and sister, who nodded encouragingly. “You’re going to take this paper and write down your wish for the New Year. I don’t mean ‘all walkers disappear’ kinda wish. Something personal to you.”_  
 _Everybody took the provided scraps of paper and writing utensils. Carol stared at her paper. She knew what she wanted to write, but it felt foolish. She wasn’t a teenager; her wish should be for something more mature._  
 _Well, it wasn’t like this would work. It was a game, and nobody would know. She quickly wrote: I wish for a good man with honor who would love me._  
 _Next to her, Daryl was folding his paper._  
 _“What’d you wish for?”_  
 _“Don’t think I’m supposta answer that.”_  
 _She crossed her arms. “Let me guess… A puppy? A new bow?”_  
 _“Stop. You’ll never guess.”_  
 _“Ok.” She saw Beth going around gathering the papers in a metal bowl._  
 _“What about you?”_  
 _She placed her paper in the bowl. Daryl did the same._  
 _“Don’t think I’m supposta answer that.” She replied as Beth set the papers on fire._


End file.
